Best & Worst States for Teen Drivers (2025)

Provided input to several questions for WalletHub's advisory article on Teen Drivers which was also covered by several radio stations as well as NewsWeek and MSN.

What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?

There is no rush for teenagers to drive. If they do not show sufficient maturity at home and at school, placing them on the road in the driver’s seat, unsupervised, is an accident waiting to happen. In states with graduated licensing schemes, this risk is reduced. Strongly recommended is a hands-on safety course such as Street Survival, Driver’s Edge and similar programs. Search “teenager safety driving school” to find programs in your vicinity. I am a Street Survival instructor and my teenager took the Saturday full day course twice. Teenagers finish the day with several tools for dealing with emergency situations while driving, and more humbled about their (inflated) driving abilities.

What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?

The crash risk of teenagers is directly related to their inattention, distraction and overconfidence, combined with an undeveloped frontal cortex which is responsible for more reliable assessment of risk, particularly for males younger than about 25 years of age. All four are hard to control. Safety schools help drive the point across. Also, your teenager need to be reminded daily “one and done”. If they get into a crash due to their fault, their driving privileges will be revoked for an extended period.

What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?

My teenager started driving in the spring of 2025. I received two quotes from well known and established insurance companies that my family patronizes; one directly from the company and another through a major merchandiser. The quotes were incomparable. For identical coverage, one company wanted three times as much in premiums! The lesson here is to spend the time researching and getting quotes from multiple companies. Some companies give credit for good GPA, driving schools and safety courses. 

Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?

The CDC reports that “crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure. Data indicate that the crash rate per mile driven is about 1.5 times as high for 16-year-old drivers as it is for 18–19-year-old drivers.” Increasing the age of eligibility for driving is supported by the national statistical data on traffic safety for teenagers.

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